Support

Dear Valued Partner,

Thank you for your continued trust in and support of Exascend. As a global provider of premium solid-state storage solutions integrating R&D, manufacturing, marketing, and services, Exascend has always been committed to delivering high-specification, high-performance, and highly reliable products and services to its customers. We understand deeply that outstanding product quality depends on the joint efforts of every partner. To further strengthen quality awareness and raise the overall quality level of the supply chain, Exascend has formulated and issued these Supplier Quality Requirements. Please read them carefully and comply with them strictly.

1. Scope of Application and Basic Requirements

These Quality Requirements apply to all products you supply to Exascend. You and your subcontractors (if any) shall comply with the basic quality requirements stipulated in this document. The requirements herein constitute the minimum prerequisites that must be observed when supplying products to Exascend. Unless explicitly agreed in writing by Exascend or by both parties, any standards submitted separately by you shall not apply under any circumstances.

This document may stand alone or serve as an annex to a sales contract or purchase order signed by both parties.

2. Quality Standards

Exascend applies the following inspection standards for incoming material inspection (applicable in order of priority):

1. Requirements of Exascend’s customers;
2. Specifications and approved samples previously acknowledged by Exascend in writing;
3. Relevant national and international standards.

For sampling, unless otherwise specified, inspection shall be conducted in accordance with ISO 2859-1 at General Inspection Level II with AQL = 0.25, and product packaging must meet Exascend’s requirements.

3. Your Quality Responsibilities

3.1 Responsibilities during the Manufacturing Process

1. You shall ensure that all products supplied to Exascend comply with the EU RoHS Directive, the WEEE Directive, and the REACH Regulation, and shall provide the relevant test reports and declarations of conformity to us before delivering the products.
2. Before mass production, you must submit samples to Exascend for approval, together with the technical specification, outgoing inspection report, type test/reliability evaluation results, RoHS test report/declaration of conformity, MSDS, PFMEA, control plan, and bill of raw materials. After the samples are approved, you shall properly retain the above documents for a minimum of three years.
3. Exascend may designate the brand and/or place of origin and/or supplier of key raw materials. Unless otherwise instructed by us in writing, you must keep them unchanged throughout the cooperation period.
4. When making any change to raw materials, product design, production equipment, manufacturing processes, technical parameters, brands of key raw materials, places of origin, or suppliers, you must notify Exascend in writing 6 months in advance and submit samples for confirmation. Until the evaluation is completed, you must ensure the normal supply of the original products.
5. When a product is to be discontinued, you must notify Exascend in writing 6 months in advance and provide a replacement solution and supply plan.
6. You shall strictly implement final inspection and inventory re-inspection procedures to ensure that the quality of mass-produced products is consistent with the approved samples.
7. You shall conduct type tests and reliability evaluations every 6 months and provide the results to our SQE within 10 days after the tests are completed.
8. You shall support and cooperate with Exascend’s quality audits and quality management system audits.

3.2 Responsibilities during Inspection and Use

Exascend determines whether a product batch is acceptable based on the inspection standards and sampling plans. When a batch is judged non-conforming, we require you to submit an 8D Report. Please note in particular: passing Exascend’s IQC sampling inspection does not exempt you from the responsibility to deliver conforming products, nor does it preclude the possibility that a batch may later be found non-conforming during use.

If the defect rate of a same-batch product supplied by you exceeds 0.5% during production and use at Exascend, we have the right to judge the batch as non-conforming and issue a written corrective action notice to you.

3.3 After-sales and Warranty Responsibilities

1. The product quality warranty period is 5 years, calculated from the date the products pass Exascend’s inspection.
2. If any problem occurs within the warranty period, you shall not postpone or delay rework, repair, or replacement for any reason.

4. PCN (Product Change Notification) Terms

After a product enters mass production, you must not make any changes to the product structure, raw materials, processes, tooling and molds, or equipment without Exascend’s written permission. If a change is required, you must submit a change application to Exascend 6 months in advance, together with physical samples, details of the modifications, the updated PFMEA/control plan/inspection specification, comparative test evaluation reports before and after the change, the bill of materials, the planned change date, the quality impact analysis report, the status of current inventory and work in progress, and the identification of the first batch of products after the change.

5. Quality Liability Traceability and Claims

Exascend has the right to file claims against you for all losses caused by product quality defects (including but not limited to losses of the non-conforming products themselves and related parts, direct labor costs, appraisal costs, equipment usage fees, site usage fees, batch sorting/rework/repair costs, production downtime and waiting for materials, administrative expenses, order delay penalties, premium freight charges, production halt losses, and customer claims).

You shall confirm a written claim from Exascend within 5 business days of receipt; failure to raise any objection within this period shall be deemed acceptance of the claim. The quality claim amount shall be settled within 10 business days from the date the claim amount is confirmed.

6. Other Quality Assurance Requirements

1. Communication mechanism: You shall designate a quality representative to handle quality-related issues with Exascend.
2. Traceability: Products shall be traceable throughout the production process and subsequent use. You shall present your traceability system or flowchart to Exascend.
3. Safety assurance: For articles with inherent (potential) hazards, safety warnings must be clearly visible, and an MSDS must be provided where necessary.
4. Downstream supplier management: You shall be responsible for managing your suppliers and ensuring that their quality levels meet Exascend’s requirements, and shall bear full responsibility for the quality of materials and components provided by your suppliers.
5. Quality performance monitoring: Exascend reserves the right to conduct at least 2 quality audits at your factory each year.

Exascend is certified to ISO 9001, IATF 16949 (automotive), IECQ/QC08000, and other management system standards, and is a National High-Tech Enterprise. We look forward to working hand in hand with every partner to build an industry-leading quality benchmark. All supplier partners are kindly requested to attach great importance to these requirements and implement them strictly. If you have any questions, please contact Exascend’s Quality Department or Purchasing Department in a timely manner.

Exascend Technology Co., Ltd.